Quarterly List of New Technical and Industrial Books

Chosen and annotated for general libraries by the Applied Science Reference Department Pratt Institute Free Library, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Nos. 14–17      FEBRUARY, 1921

Fuel oil in industry. S. O. Andros. Shaw pub. co. 244p. $3.75.

A timely book giving information about the properties of fuel oil, its value as compared with coal, and details of methods of using it in industrial plants, locomotives, steamships, heating of buildings, etc. Contains a chapter on colloidal fuel, which consists of pulverized coal held in suspension in oil.

Author is editor of Oil News.

Inventions; their development, purchase and sale. W. F. Baff. Van Nostrand. 230p. $2.00.

Written by a patent attorney, the book discusses how an inventor, having secured his patent, may sell or otherwise realize on it, the many points being considered in detail.

Boy bird house architecture. L. H. Baxter. Bruce. 61p. $1.00.

Designed to encourage a liking for birds, to teach something of their habits, how to construct and put up houses to attract the various kinds of birds, and how to conduct bird house contests. Illustrated with half-tones and twenty plates of drawings showing details of design and construction of bird houses, and feeding devices.

Author is director of Manual Training, Public Schools, St. Johnsbury, Vermont.

Armature winding and motor repair; practical information and data covering winding and reconnecting procedure for direct and alternating current machines, compiled for electrical men responsible for the operation and repair of motors and generators in industrial plants and for repairmen and armature winders in electrical shops. D. H. Braymer. McGraw. 515p. $3.00.

A practical book for repairmen who have to do with the locating of troubles and the repair of electric motors in repair shop work, power station work, and industrial plants. The matter is for the most part a compilation from various sources.

Author is managing editor of Electrical World.

Forest products: their manufacture and use. N. C. Brown. Wiley. 471p. $3.75.

Treats of the production, manufacture and use of many important forest products, but not of lumber. Chapters are devoted to wood pulp and paper; tanning materials; veneers; cooperage; turpentine, tar, pitch; wood distillation; charcoal; railroad ties; piles and piling; posts; mine timbers; fuelwood; shingles; maple syrups and sugar; rubber; dyewoods and materials; excelsior; cork. A bibliography accompanies each of the 22 chapters.

Author is professor of forest utilization, New York College of Forestry, Syracuse University.

The wireless experimenter’s manual, incorporating “How to conduct a radio club.” Describes parliamentary procedure in the formation of a radio club; the design of wireless transmitting and receiving apparatus, long distance receiving sets, vacuum tube amplifiers, radio telegraph and telephone sets, the tuning and calibration of transmitters and receivers, general radio measurements and many other features. Completely revised and rewritten. E. E. Bucher. Wireless press. 350p. $2.25.

One of the best books for the amateur wireless experimenter.

Author is instructing engineer, Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America.

The essentials of business law. rev. ed. F. M. Burdick. Appleton. 361p.

A high school text-book, plainly written, designed to teach “those legal principles and ideas involved in ordinary business affairs,” and some of their applications.

The last previous ed. was published in 1908; the present ed. has been revised and the necessary changes made to bring it into conformity with present day practice.

Author is Dwight professor of law in Columbia University Law School.

How to use cement for concrete construction for town and farm. H. C. Campbell. Stanton. $2.00.

Contains plain directions for using concrete for the usual purposes in town and country, and in addition tells how to construct tennis courts, flower boxes, lawn seats, etc. Fully illustrated.

What bird is that? A pocket museum of the land birds of the Eastern United States arranged according to season. F. M. Chapman. Appleton. $1.25.

Eight colored plates, supposed to represent as many cases in a natural history museum and showing pictures of three hundred birds arranged according to season, in their proper colors and drawn to scale. The text of this book gives an entry for each one of the birds, describing its appearance, its length in inches, its range, the dates of its arrival in various places, its habits, and refers by number to its picture in the colored plates.

Author is curator of birds in the American Museum of Natural History.

Language for men of affairs. 2 v. Ronald. 1136p. $8.00.

V. 1. Talking business. J. M. Clapp. Considers voice production, enunciation, vocabulary, construction of sentences, and business conversation. Has sections on the preparation and delivery of business addresses.

Author is lecturer on the language of business, New York University.

V. 2. Business writing. J. M. Lee. ed. Considers business English in written form for correspondence, advertising, journalism, report-writing, preparing copy for the printer, proof-reading, etc.

Editor is director, department of journalism, College of the City of New York.

The work is an important contribution to the literature of the subject and valuable to executives, salesmen and others engaged in business.

The hen at work: a brief manual of home poultry culture. Ernest Cobb. Putnam. 233p. $1.50.

A book on keeping hens for egg production. Considers breeds, housing, hatching, raising chickens, diseases, etc. Contains a chapter on ducks.

American machinists’ handbook and dictionary of shop terms: a reference book of machine shop and drawing room data, methods and definitions. 3d. ed. thoroughly rev. and enl. F. H. Colvin and F. A. Stanley. McGraw. 758p. $4.00.

Revision of a standard machine shop and drafting room reference book, enlarged by 160 pages above the last previous ed., published in 1914, and the original text revised where necessary.

Authors are respectively editor and associate editor of American Machinist.

Automotive ignition systems; prepared in the extension division of the University of Wisconsin. E. L. Consoliver, and G. I. Mitchell. McGraw. 269p. $2.50 (Engineering education series)

Correspondence school text book dealing plainly with the various gasoline engine ignition systems used on automobiles, trucks, tractors and airplanes. Addressed to workers who have to install, adjust, and repair ignition systems in factories and shops, and to automobile owners.

Authors are connected with the mechanical engineering department, University of Wisconsin.

Submarine warfare of today; how the submarine menace was met and vanquished, with descriptions of the inventions and devices used, fast boats, mystery ships, nets, aircraft, etc., also describing the selection and training of the enormous personnel used in this new navy. C. W. Domville-Fife. Lippincott. 304p. $2.25. (Science of today series)

An interesting, popularly written book. Describes conditions as they were at the beginning of the war, and tells of the measures adopted and the devices employed to meet the submarine menace by convoying ships, laying mines, and destroying enemy submarines. Fully illustrated.

Author was of the staff of the British school of submarine mining, and has written other books on submarines.

Traveling salesmanship. A. W. Douglas. Macmillan. 153p. $1.75.

“This little book is not merely the usual study of the psychology of Salesmanship, but rather the result of forty years’ close contact with the traveling salesmen of one of the largest distributing mercantile organizations of this country.” Preface.

Contains chapters on the nature and function of salesmanship, preparations for the road, work on the road, contact with customers, competition and prices, some phases of selling, claims, the human equation.

The author is chairman, committee on statistics of the United States Chamber of Commerce.

Experimental wireless stations; their theory, design, construction and operation; including wireless telephony, vacuum tube and quenched spark systems; a complete elementary course of instruction in and on account of sharply tuned modern wireless installations. New 1920 ed. P. E. Edelman. Henley. 392p. $3.00.

A revised and enlarged edition of a successful amateur’s book on wireless communication. Some knowledge of the fundamentals of electricity and mathematics on the part of the reader is presupposed.

Direct-current motor and generator troubles. T. S. Gandy and E. C. Schacht. McGraw. 270p. $2.50.

A book for the man concerned with the selection, operation, care and repair of direct-current electrical machinery. Discusses types of motors and generators, and their uses; their installation, starting and operation; switchboards; troubles and their remedies; tests and repairs, etc.

Senior author is designing electrical engineer of direct-current machinery, General Electric Company.

Advanced shop drawing; prepared in the extension division of the University of Wisconsin. V. C. George. McGraw. 147p. $1.60.

Correspondence school text book. A book for the student who, having had training in elementary mechanical drawing requires practice in its applications to special phases of the subject. The book has chapters on working drawings; gearing; isometric, cabinet and shaded drawings; patent office, structural and electrical drawings; piping layouts, and sheet metal work. Well illustrated with line drawings.

Author is instructor in mechanical engineering, University of Wisconsin.

Every step in canning: the cold-pack process. G. V. Gray. Forbes. 253p. $1.25.

Plain directions for canning in glass and tin by the one period, cold-pack process. Tells how to can fruits and vegetables; to make and can soups, jellies, jams and preserves; to dry fruits and vegetables; to cure, smoke and preserve meats; to preserve eggs, etc.

Addressed to those who are concerned with canning and preserving at home.

Author was formerly associate professor of home economics, Iowa State College.

Food facts for the home-maker. L. S. Harvey. Houghton. 314p. $2.50.

“This book is intended to be a help to the young housekeeper who is starting out in the new home without either a knowledge of science or the technical training which could help her. The book is also intended to help those women who have kept house for years and who are excellent cooks and careful planners. It should give a scientific foundation to their technical skill ... perhaps showing them ways in which they may shorten processes and thus save time and energy.” Preface.

Considers the various articles of diet and their food values, kitchen arrangement and equipment, buying food for infants and young children, school children, invalids. Contains recipes, and could supplement cook books.

Partly based on lectures to classes. Author is town dietitian, Brookline, Mass.

Concrete work; a book to aid the self-development of workers in concrete and for students in engineering. W. K. Hatt and W. C. Voss. v. 1. Wiley. 451p. $4.00. (Wiley technical series: Industrial texts).

The first book in a series of industrial texts written by teachers who trained men in military schools during the War, the methods and materials worked out in that practice being utilized in the preparation of these texts. The object of the authors is to present scientific principles with their practical applications in a manner intelligible to the worker or novice in concrete work, in order to enable him to fit himself for a foreman’s position or enter into business as a local contractor. The present work is in 2 vols., the second of which is now in press, and the matter is so arranged that the two should be used together.

Authors are respectively professor of civil engineering, Purdue University, and head, department of architectural construction, Wentworth Institute.

Motor car upholstering; a plainly written book on the fundamentals of motor car trimming and upholstering. Phila., Hirst-Roger Co. 180p. $2.50.

Designed as an instruction book in vehicle trimming for men taking up that kind of work. Describes the materials, tools and methods employed, and contains many illustrations.

The matter is well prepared and reliable.

Trade publication of a firm which manufactures automobile carpets.

The new stone age. H. E. Howe. Century. 289p. $3.00.

By the “new stone age” is meant the age of concrete construction. The present book, written for the layman, tells of the materials employed and of many uses to which they are applied. The treatment is general, no details being given. A timely book in view of the wide field of applications of concrete in building and engineering work.

The new merchant marine. E. N. Hurley. Century. 296p. $3.00.

The former chairman of the United States Shipping Board tells in this book of how the problem of supplying ships for war demands was met, and discusses the future of the American merchant marine, foreign fields of commerce and related topics.

Elements of retail salesmanship. P. W. Ivey. Macmillan. 247p.

A text-book for store classes in salesmanship, or for individual reading. Author writes from personal experience and bases his book on lectures to store classes. Considers knowing the goods, knowing the customer, personality, the selling process, and store system and method. Problems are provided for each of the nine chapters, and a bibliography of business books is appended.

Author is associate professor of economics and commerce, University of Nebraska.

The engines of the human body, being the substance of Christmas lectures given at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, Christmas 1916–1917. Arthur Keith. Lond. Williams. 204p. 12s. 6d.

At the Christmas holiday season the Royal Institution of Great Britain invites some eminent scientist to deliver popular lectures to young people. In the lectures which make up this book the author considers the human body from an engineering standpoint: the bones as levers, the muscles as internal combustion engines, the heart as a pump, the nerves as a telephone system, etc. It is an interesting boys’ book on physiology, and would interest some more mature readers.

Splendors of the sky. I. E. Lewis. Duffield 343p. $1.50.

Interesting chapters on astronomy written for the general reader. Valuable as a popular account of recent progress in astronomy. Illustrated. Appeared originally in a daily newspaper.

Artificial light, its influence upon civilization. M. Luckiesch. Century. 366p. $2.50. (The century books of useful science.)

The author traces the methods of producing and uses of artificial lighting from its earliest forms of which we have knowledge to the present day, and considers how human progress has been advanced by the overcoming of darkness. The book is interestingly written and well illustrated.

Author is director of applied science, Nela research laboratory, National Lamp Works of the General Electric Company.

The motor cycle handbook: the construction, operation, care and repair of modern types of motor cycles, their accessories and equipment. H. P. Manly. Drake. 320p. $1.50.

A practical book describing and illustrating in considerable detail various types of motor cycles, their engines, fuel systems, electrical equipment, transmissions, running gear, etc. Contains chapters on power attachments and side cars, and on motor cycle repairs.

The author has written several practical books on the automobile.

Automobile electric systems; an analysis of all the systems now used on motor cars with 200 wiring diagrams and giving special attention to trouble shooting and repairs. D. P. Moreton and D. S. Hatch. 591p. $3.50.

Describes and illustrates in detail the various electrical installations employed in igniting the gas, starting the motor and supplying light for the lamps of automobiles of all types. Particular attention is given to systems used on Ford cars.

The book is addressed to car owners and repairmen, and some knowledge of the fundamental principles of the electric circuit is presupposed.

The same authors’, “Electrical equipment of the motor car”, (U. P. C. book co., 1920, $3.50) considers the more elementary phases of the subject, without describing the special installations which form the subject of the more recent book.

Senior author is associate professor of electrical engineering, Armour Institute of Technology.

Practical trade mathematics for electricians, machinists, carpenters, plumbers and others. J. A. Moyer and C. H. Sampson. Wiley. 172p. $1.50.

A practical elementary mathematics for adult students. All the problems relate to operations familiar to the men in their various occupations, and unusual mathematical terms are avoided. Numerous problems and worked-out examples are provided, the electrical problems being grouped separately.

Senior author was formerly in charge of division of electrical calculations in the General Electric Company; the junior author is head of technical and mathematical departments, Huntington School, Boston, Mass.

Interior electric wiring. A. L. Nelson. American Technical Society. 265p. $2.50.

A practical book, of the correspondence school type, on the installation of electric wiring in buildings, with directions for wiring for special purposes.

Shop mathematics; a treatise on applied mathematics dealing with various machine-shop and tool-room problems, and containing numerous examples illustrating their solution and the practical application of useful rules and formulas. Erik Oberg and F. D. Jones. Industrial press. 280p. $3.00.

A practical mathematics designed to teach the machinist or apprentice learning machine shop practice how to perform the calculating necessary in his work.

Authors are respectively editor and associate editor of Machinery.

The English of commerce. J. B. Opdycke. Scribner. 435p. $2.00.

A high school text-book teaching the choice of words, spelling, construction of sentences, paragraphs and letters for business purposes. Contains also sections on newspapers and magazines, advertising, business talk, sales and advertising literature, abbreviations and special terms, proofreading, business forms, etc. Examples of good and bad usage are given in the various sections. The book could be studied with profit by young business people who have gone through school without instruction in the writing of business English.

Motor boats and boat motors; design, construction, operation and repair; a complete handbook for all interested in motor boats, considering all details of modern hulls and marine motors. Deals with boat construction, design and types of power plants, installation of engines, and all phases of motor boat and engine care, operation and repair. Written by a corps of experts; compiled and edited by V. W. Page. Includes complete working drawings and full instructions for building five boats, ranging in size from a sixteen-foot general utility model to a twenty-five foot raised cabin cruiser, by A. C. Leitch. A special chapter on seaplanes and flying boats is included. Fully illustrated with 374 illustrations. Henley. 524p. $4.00.

Part I. The hull and fittings.

Part II. The power plant and its auxiliaries.

A useful book for all interested in motor boats; their design, construction, equipment, navigation and care. Well illustrated, the plans of boat design being drawn to scale.

Pitman’s common commodities and industries. Pitman. $1.00. 2s. 6d.

A collection of thin monographs, written in nontechnical style by authoritative British authors for the general reader. Suitable for general libraries. About thirty volumes have appeared. The following are recent publications:

Furniture. H. E. Binstead.

Carpets and the carpet trade. R. S. Brinton.

Knitted fabrics. J. T. Chamberlain and J. H. Quilter.

Zinc and its alloys. T. E. Lones.

Clays and clay products. A. H. Searle.

Asbestos. A. L. Summers.

Gas and gas making. W. H. Y. Webber.

Coal. F. H. Wilson.

Cordage and cordage hemp. T. Woodhouse and R. Kilgour.

Personal efficiency in business. E. E. Purinton. McBride. 341p. $1.60.

Interesting discussion of business efficiency principles and methods, for the guidance of business men ambitious to succeed in office work, salesmanship or as executives.

Technical writing. T. A. Rickard. Wiley. 178p. $1.50.

An instructive book on the writing of English as it applies to engineering reports, papers, articles for the press, etc. Numerous examples of bad grammar, incorrect use of words and faulty construction of sentences are provided, and much good advice on correct technical writing is given. The matter is based on lectures delivered before engineering classes.

Author is editor of the Mining and Scientific Press.

House painting, glazing, paper hanging and whitewashing: a book for the householder. 2d. ed., rev. and enl. A. H. Sabin. Wiley. 143p. $1.00.

Instructive book for householders interested in knowing about materials and methods employed in exterior and interior house painting, varnishing, painting structural metal, floor-finishing, glazing, papering, whitewashing, kalsomining, mixing paints, etc. A book for the amateur.

Author is consulting chemist of the National Lead Company, and writes from large experience in paint and varnish manufacturing.

Bricklaying in modern practice. Stewart Scrimshaw. Macmillan. 182p. $1.20.

An elementary text-book designed to teach the fundamentals of the bricklaying trade, and a source of information concerning the trade. Emphasis is placed upon trade ethics and Americanization. Considers briefly the history of bricklaying, materials of the trade, tools and apparatus, practical bricklaying, special phases of bricklaying, theory of the trade, safety and hygiene, economics of bricklaying, the bricklayers relation to the public trade organizations, apprenticeship. Each of the eleven chapters is followed by a summary, questions, and literature references.

Author is supervisor of apprenticeship for the State of Wisconsin.

Pattern making. J. A. Shelley. Industrial Press. 332p. $3.00.

Practical book on the making of wood patterns and core-boxes for foundry castings. Explains and illustrates in detail actual operations in laying out and constructing patterns and core-boxes; the tools, machinery and materials employed, and contains other information valuable to the pattern maker and student. Fully illustrated with original halftones and line drawings.

Author is instructor in pattern making, Pratt Institute, and writes from experience as a practical pattern maker.

The world’s food resources. J. R. Smith. Holt. 634p. $3.50.

An interesting book on the world’s food resources of all kinds; where and how produced, the possibilities of increasing production and of employing foods not now estimated at their real value. Considers also the cost of production of various foodstuffs in comparison with their nutritive values and, in general, the whole question of food supply from an economic standpoint.

Author is professor of economic geography in Columbia University.

Industrial Spanish. C. F. Sparkman. Allyn. 259p. $1.40.

A Spanish reader entirely in the Spanish language, providing reading exercises relating to the trades, business, manufactures, engineering, agriculture, professions, etc., with many illustrations. A section on grammar and a vocabulary are appended.

Author is assistant professor of Spanish, Purdue University.

The practice of presswork. C. R. Spicher. Pittsburgh. Author. 240p. $3.60.

Authoritative, practical book describing the mechanism and operation of various types of printing presses; the “make-ready” operation for printing; printing inks; rollers, etc. Contains chapters on automatic feeders, paper-making, typesetting machines, photo-engraving, electric drive.

A good text-book for schools where printing is taught, and contains much that is instructive for those who are interested in printing and photo-engraving for advertising or other purposes.

Author is instructor in presswork, Carnegie Institute of Technology.

Swoope’s lessons in practical electricity; an elementary text book. Ed. 16, rewritten, revised and enlarged by H. N. Stillman and Erich Hausmann. Van Nostrand. 625p. $2.50.

A complete revision of a good elementary textbook which has been largely used for nearly twenty years. In the present edition the matter has been brought up to date and some additional chapters added. It is a valuable text-book for schools or for home study.

Dr Hausmann, the surviving reviser, is professor of physics at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.

Tires and vulcanizing; a comprehensive and practical manual of rubber tires, tire repairing and vulcanizing, including all necessary information and instructions on rubber, compounds, cotton and repair materials; the construction of pneumatic tires together with their use, injuries and abuse. H. H. Tufford. Henley. 410p. $2.00.

An instruction book for beginners or for those employed in tire repairing, describing in detail the materials, tools and operations employed in the various processes. The book is plainly written and illustrated.

Author was formerly chief vulcanizing instructor in a U. S. army school.

Operation and care of vehicle-type batteries. (Prepared with the cooperation of the construction division of the Army, War Department.) Wash., Government Printing office. 94p. Paper 30c. (U.S. Bureau of Standards circular, No. 92.)

An authoritative book on storage batteries for electric tractors and trucks. Describes in detail lead-acid and iron-nickel types of batteries, their construction, testing, charging, storage, etc. Contains U. S. Government specifications and a glossary of terms.

A practical course in roof framing; the underlying principles and their application to practical work, especially written for foremen, journeymen and apprentice woodworkers, and as a textbook for schools. R. M. Van Gaasbeek. Drake. 151p. $1.50.

Plainly written, practical home study book for carpenters and apprentices, or a text book for trade schools. Illustrated with 72 line drawings and halftones made for the book.

Author is head of department of woodworking, Pratt Institute.

Electric welding. Ethan Viall.

A comprehensive treatise, largely a compilation from various sources, describing the apparatus and operations employed in arc and resistance welding for manufacturing and repairing purposes. The different makes of apparatus now in use are described and illustrated, and many examples of work performed are given. Contains chapters on the physical properties and metallurgy of arc-fused steels. The book is fully illustrated.

Author is editor of American Machinist.

Furniture for small houses; a book of designs for inexpensive furniture with new methods of construction and decoration. P. A. Wells. Lond., Batsford, and N. Y. Dutton. 35p. text, and 57 plates. 10½ × 7½ in. 12s. 6d. American price $7.00.

An English book of furniture for small town and country houses. The articles are severely plain in design, small in size, and inexpensive to make. An experienced amateur could make any of the pieces. Pictures of the furniture and detailed drawing for its construction are given.

Author is head of cabinet department, London County Council Shoreditch Technical School, where all the furniture shown in the book was originally made. The text describes the woods used and decorations employed.

The automobile repairman’s helper; a pocket book for the mechanic, owner, chauffeur, and student, covering every trouble likely to be found in all the standard cars and including chapters on inspection and lubrication, drills, taps and lathes, welding storage, batteries, cylinder and piston ring work, bearings, axle adjustments, repairing tops, mudguards, lamps, etc. 2v. S. T. Williams. Each vol. has 448p. $3.00 per vol.

V. 1 appeared in 1918.

The books contain plain instructions for performing all kinds of repair work on automobiles. Fully illustrated.

Modern pulp and paper-making; a practical treatise. G. S. Witham, Sr. The chemical catalog company, inc. 599p. $6.00.

Treats in a practical manner of the materials, plant, and all the operations employed in the production of pulp and paper, according to American practice, quite the best practical book on the subject and valuable in any community where the paper industry is carried on. Paper manufacturers, dealers, salesmen and others interested in the subject, may gain much information from the book.

Author is manager of Mills, Union Bag and Paper Corporation, Hudson Falls, N.Y.

Clothing; choice, care, cost. M. S. Woolman. Lippincott. 289p. (Lippincott’s family life series.)

An instructive book on the clothing and accessories which make up the wardrobe, especially of women and children. Describes the various materials: cotton, linen, silk, and leather, and discusses their uses, cost, care and repair. Contains chapters on thrift, shopping, dyeing, laundry, spot removal, and related matter.

Author writes from experience as teacher and textile specialist.

Subject, Title and Pseudonym Index
To Author Entries, March, 1920—February, 1921